Kedrick Suwa's Estate

[x_Ultra_Panda_Luver_x]

Arielle Shore

Arielle looked over at Kedrick as he placed his hand over hers and moved it away from her neck. She smiled gently at him and took in his look, understanding the meaning and felt comforted by it.

Mr. Vázquez was surprised by Kedrick's apology about how he had handled with Jonesy. The man could only just wave it off and smile. "It's fine, don't worry about it," he responded calmly. "I don't blame you for your reaction. But be careful not to do something like that again or I will get in trouble next time."

"We all get upset," he continued, going into father mode. "And we have a tendency to do rash and thoughtless things when we can't control it, but sometimes people just deserve to feel our anger. Of course, like I said before, it's not something we should do all the time, but at times, it's necessary."

"Stop being such a confusing cop," Maria teased her father gently, although she could understood his double advice. "Are you sure you deserve to be the chief?"

Mr. Vázquez laughed and messed with his daughter's hair. "Because you would tell him something differently?"

Maria made a face at her father before laughing. She knew that she'd probably say something along the same lines, or encourage Kedrick to beat the ever living crap out of Jonesy. Even if he didn't, she'd probably would've done so if she had lost all of her control. "You win this time, dad," Maria said with a small smirk.

When Ienzo saw that Dimitri's face had gone pale at one point, he wondered if what he had said had hit home and made him consider his word choice. He was obviously not aware of the traumatizing meaning that it held for Dimitri, and if he had, he would've been the one being more careful about his word choice.

The young man listened as Dimitri started to yell at him again. He would've come up with a smart comeback or even commented on what he said, but he had a feeling that it would be considered as "stupid" to Dimitri's ears. "Fine, fine. I see no more reason to continue this," Ienzo said getting off the rail. "Unless you want to keep everyone waiting while you scream at me."  

[Tobi-chan Lissesul]

♟♞ ♝ ♜ ♛ Ҝәɖʁϊϲҝ Ś. Śűѿą & Ďȋɱȋŧʁȋ Ĵ. ᾟűηŧȇʁ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟

Kedrick felt a wave of relief at the sight of Mr. Vázquez's smile, and he listened intently to his words. A small smile tugged the corners of his mouth, and he nodded his head. "Of course sir. It won't happen again." He assured him, and then thought about that for a second. There was a chance, that in the future, he may be facing on of the two men he hated the most again, and he wondered if he could keep his sudden, flaring temper in check. Kedrick pinched his lips together thoughtfully, and came to a sudden decision. He would not allow it to get the better of him again.

Kedrick's smile widened as he listened to Maria banter playfully with her father. It was good to see them interact, and Kedrick briefly thought that a father like Mr. Vázquez would be good for Dimitri. First of all, Dimitri real father had died before he could really remember...and then there was Jared, who was by no means any kind of person that could ever be called a father. Kedrick smiled faintly at the thought of Dimitri coming to know Maria's father more, and he hoped that eventually, Dimitri would let himself think of Maria's father that way.

Dimitri took a deep breath as he finished, listening to Ienzo. He still didn't feel like he had made any kind of impression on him, like he still hadn't even really heard him. As Ienzo stepped of the railing, Dimitri backed up a pace, the other young man having come to close for comfort. Dimitri pinched his lips together, his brow furrowing. Ienzo wasn't exactly setting them up for a golden friendship here was he? He opened his mouth slightly, considering say, 'I was not screaming.' But he realized that wasn't true, and Ienzo would call him on it. "Right...." He said, looking down, but Ienzo's words echoed in his ears, and the boy squirmed uncertainly.

Dimitri had no idea just how small he must look the the other boy. He stood there in front of him, a good head, maybe even an head and a half short then him, his slight shoulders bent, his head lowered. For the first time, Dimitri considered that Maria was right. that maybe this hadn't been a good idea.

((This is probably were the contact should come in.))

 

[x_Ultra_Panda_Luver_x]

Arielle Shore

"If only I was keeping the score," Mr. Vázquez said with a soft grin. "But anyway, should we wait for Dimitri to come back from wherever he is or should we discuss what actions need to be done now?"

Arielle thought about it, wondering if waiting was a good idea. It wasn't like they all had important appointments afterwards and had a pressing need to get to them. At the same time, she wanted to know her options now and then go home and just stay in her room the entire day, even though Kedrick would most likely get her out.

"They should be almost done," Maria said with a small sigh, "But I'll go get him. We probably need to wait if he had just listened to me." She knew that she could've said more, but then she would've just been ranting. She excused herself from them and started to head to the front, knowing that the boys were probably still outside since they hadn't come back.

"And now, with that done," Ienzo said gently, a calm smile on his face, "Let's try again without this tension between us, alright?" He finished with a gentle touch on the shoulder, momentarily forgetting about Maria saying something about touching Dimitri. When he did realize it, he pulled his hand back and placed it in his pockets.

Maria had walked out then, already quickly heading toward Dimitri. "I hope you've had your differences settled," Maria said with a light frown. "And maybe next time when you're jealous Dimitri, you should at least listen to me, alright?" Her voice came across like a scolding mother, but she found herself keeping Dimitri close, making sure that he was alright. She knew Ienzo wasn't a person that would hurt Dimitri, but even his most friendly touches on the shoulder made the girl protective of Dimitri.

"We need to get back inside," was all she said afterwards, her forehead against his. "They're all waiting for you, goofball. So I thought I'd come get you myself."  

[Tobi-chan Lissesul]

♟♞ ♝ ♜ ♛ Ҝәɖʁϊϲҝ Ś. Śűѿą & Ďȋɱȋŧʁȋ Ĵ. ᾟűηŧȇʁ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟

Kedrick smiles slightly at the police chief and his daughter, and then glanced over at Arielle. She still looked troubled, but after today who wouldn't be? He sighed slightly, rubbing her back with a gentle touch and hoping that she would be okay. Looking at Maria, Kedrick gave her a small smile. "Alright, bring the knucklehead back, make sure he's okay..." He added with a sigh. Kedrick watched as she went out, and his thoughts wondered to Dimitri and Ienzo. What were they doing right now? Were things going alright between them, or would Kedrick be dealing with the two of them being enemies for a while long.

Dimitri gave a soft laugh under his breath, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Could they be friends? or were they just going to be shallowly tolerant of each other for the rest of the time they knew each other? Dimitri couldn't tell, it would take time for the dust to setting, but just maybe...there was a chance that they could be friends.

When Dimitri felt the touch on his shoulder, all the color drained from his face. Before Ienzo could even fully pull back, Dimitri reacted violently. He jerked back, hitting his hand away from him. "STOP IT!" He cried, a look of pure terror on his features. Dimitri backed away from his, eyes livid with fear. "Stop it Jared! Don't touch me!" His back hit the railing on the other side and Dimitri felt trapped. Before, his shouting was out of anger, and jealousy, now, there was just a cold, sickening fear that clouded the boy's mind. Ienzo had done nothing to deserve the look of fear on the boys face, he looked like he expected him to attack him at any second.

Dimitri stood there, his chest heaving, vision blurred by unshed tears. It was that moment when Maria come on to the seen, and Dimitri pulled himself up a bit, trying quickly to mask the panic he had felt. He knew it still showed on his face, he was deathly white, and his body shook with suppressed tremblings. He licked his lips nervously, casting a glance at Ienzo. Suddenly, all he felt was anger, but not directed at Ienzo, but at himself. His cheeks flushed with anger and embarrassment, why couldn't he control that?! Now Ienzo would be curious, and nosy, he'd want to know what roused such an awful reaction just from an innocent touch on the shoulder. Dimitri felt sick, worthless, and weak, but he forced himself to look up at Maria. He swallowed stiffly as he felt her forehead touch his. He nodded slightly, and then, suddenly aware that Ienzo was probably staring at him, he took Maria's hand hurriedly and stepped into the building, head lowered, face flushed with shame.

 

[x_Ultra_Panda_Luver_x]

Arielle Shore

"Jared? Who's that?" Ienzo asked, completely confused and wishing that he had never placed his hand on Dimitri. The reaction he got from the guy was so shocking and he just stared at him in a confused manner.

"Ienzo, if I were you," Maria cautioned, her voice serious as well as authoritative. "I wouldn't question this anymore, alright? I told you not to touch him and you didn't listen to me so of course you don't deserve to have your question answered. As well as the fact that this is known of your business about who this Jared person is. Just do us a favor and pretend you never heard of that name and wipe it away from your memory. Got it?"

She wasn't able to hear Ienzo respond to her command because Dimitri had dragged her inside. She let him pull her before she stopped but held onto his hand. "Dimitri...," she said calmly, tying to get him to focus on her. "You need to calm down and relax. We'll discuss about this later, but you need to be calm before going back to my dad or he's going to find out way sooner than you want him to, alright?"  

[Tobi-chan Lissesul]

♟♞ ♝ ♜ ♛ Ҝәɖʁϊϲҝ Ś. Śűѿą & Ďȋɱȋŧʁȋ Ĵ. ᾟűηŧȇʁ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟

Dimitri visibly flinched as Ienzo said Jared's name. He hadn't even been aware that the wrong name had come out of his mouth, and for a second, Dimitri had panicked, wondering how in the world he had know. But then the panic ebbed back to angry embarrassment as he realized that he had blurted out his stepfathers name without thinking it. He hated himself for that. The involuntary yelling and jerking backwards was just a gut reaction to the touch. But to say his name. Dimitri shuddered slightly, it made his mouth feel dirty.

Maria's commanding words washed right over his head. His mind was a blinding, numbing whirlwind of emotion, and he couldn't even begin to focus on her words. But whatever she said, it must have worked, because Ienzo didn't pursue the matter as Maria and Dimitri went into the police station again. He felt her stop suddenly, his hand jerking against hers for a second as he tried to take a step forward still. realizing she had stop, Dimitri turned around slowly, making himself meet her gaze.

The young man bit his lips, focusing on her words. He nodded slowly, tumbling it over in his head. He didn't like the idea, but he was sure that, if he was going to have a future with Maria, her father would find out about his past eventually. Dimitri frowned deeply. '...What'll he think then....Oh great, my future son in law, the rape victim.' Dimitri sighed, slowly releasing her hand. "Okay...He said, quietly, give me a few minutes, I'll be back soon." The dark hair boy gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, and turned, walking into the men's room.

Dimitri stepped into the cool, tiled interior of the bathroom, bracing his weight against the sink and breathing a shuddering sigh. He had to let out this stress somehow. The young man played out the days events in his head, feeling Jonsey staring at him, calling him a twerp, or...whatever it was. He remembered the panic of seeing Arielle choked, and the sickening, hot jealousy that had tried to completely consume his mind. He remembered Ienzo's well-meant touch on the shoulder, and the pure terror it had brought. And then the wave of angry embarrassment returned, and Dimitri felt two hot tears trickling down his cheeks. His fingers gripped the edge of the sink tightly, his shoulders trembling. After a few minutes of standing there like that, Dimitri straightened abruptly, grabbing a handful of paper towels and scrubbing the tears from his cheeks.

Dimitri tried to remember exactly what he had said to Ienzo a few minutes ago, but it was kind of a blur. He had been fairly well out of his mind with anger, and jealousy, and hadn't even taken the time to think about what he said at all. But he did remember what Ienzo said, and weather he liked it or not, the other young man was right. If not for Dimitri, there would be other guys that would be fully willing to snatch Maria up the minute there was an opening. 'She could have just as easily chosen one of them....a guy like Ienzo, or someone else...' Dimitri thought, and then stared at himself in the mirror. 'So why?...Out of all those guys, did she choose scrawny, worthless, weak, defiled, unclean....me?' Dimitri shoulders slumped as he saw nothing in the mirror that deserved that kind of unwavering love. she loves you Dimitri. The boy looked aside, glaring deeply. "I know that! But WHY!

"You're a handsome young man Dimitri."

Dimitri startled, his head jerking up. That hadn't been his thought, someone had said that too him...may times before, and yet somehow, it made Dimitri feel ugly inside. The young man suddenly covered his ears, trying to block out the rest of what Jared had said to him, but it was in his head, there was no way to shut it out. 'You're a handsome young man Dimitri, and that will make you a target. All your life, people will want you. And, once they've gotten what they want, they'll throw you away like so much garbage.' Dimitri lowered his head, his forehead touching the cool metal of the sink faucet. "Stop it..." He moaned softly, closing his eyes tightly, but it only served to make it louder. 'Believe me this one thing Dimitri, weather it's me, or someone else,For the rest of your life, your only worth will be as someone's sex toy.' Dimitri clenched his hands so tightly that his fingernails cut into his palm. "Shut up..." He said thought gritted teeth, tear dripping down his cheeks again and off the bridge of his noes.

Almost ten minutes later, Dimitri came out of the restroom. He had carefully dried his face so there was no longer any traces of the tears he had cried. Once again, he was very grateful that his eyes didn't redden. The boy had cried for several minute, and then, cursing quietly under his breath, he forced himself to stop thinking about it, and focus on the task at hand. Arielle's stalker had to be caught and brought to justice, and by sitting her crying he was wasting precious time on that. Dimitri had pulled himself around as quickly as he could, and once he was sure he looked, and at least somewhat felt, okay, he had left the restroom and walked over to Maria.

Dimitri gave her a wane smile, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry it took me so long. I'm ready now." He said with a small smiled. The dark haired boy reached out and took her and, and the two of them walked back to where they had left Kedrick, Arielle, and Maria's father.

Kedrick looked up quickly as Dimitri and Maria reentered the room. It had been a long time, and Kedrick had begun to get really worried, especially with how Dimitri would handle Ienzo. He stood up as they came in, studying Dimitri from head to foot. Finally, seeing that Dimitri seemed fine, and wasn't obviously upset, Kedrick allowed a small smile. "All done out there?" He asked quietly, earning a small nod from Dimitri in return.

 

[x_Ultra_Panda_Luver_x]

Arielle Shore

Maria nodded and watched as her boyfriend walked into the men's bathroom. Despite his reassuring smile, Maria was still worried about how he was feeling at the current moment. She wished that she could go in there and talk with him, but she'd have to wait for them to be away from the police station and somewhere safe on their own.

Maybe I should apologize with Ienzo as well, she thought, knowing that she probably came across as a bit harsh with him. At least she could use the excuse of being stressed out by the situation to explain why she was a bit angry. But then there would be the trouble about what questions that might be already formulating in his head about Jared.

At least next time he'll know when to take my advice... The both of them, she thought with a small frown before sighing and feeling a light smile on her face. Because somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt like saying 'I told you so' but knew that she shouldn't be doing so right then and there.

Maria was beginning to get impatient after a couple of minutes had passed and was just about to burst in to the bathroom and see if Dimitri was alright.
He then came out and apologized, and Maria just shrugged it off like it was nothing, refusing to make any kind of comment at that point. She took his hand again and wove her fingers in between his and gave them another gentle squeeze.

Like Kedrick, when Maria and Dimitri had returned to the room, she was glad to see that he was alright. She would've asked questions about what had happened when he was away, but she refrained from doing so. Now that they were all together, her mind could return to the current problem, what they were originally here for. Just thinking about that made her stomach feel weak.

"Now that you've all returned," Mr. Vázquez began, "Can you explain to me what happened with Jonesy and the information he gave you. And then afterwards we'll discuss about our next step of action in keeping not only Arielle safe, but the rest of you and everyone that she holds important safe. Alright?"

Arielle nodded and took a deep breath before beginning. She wasn't sure of how much Mr. Vázquez had been aware of when he was standing outside the room, but she would tell it all to him again anyway. She started off from the beginning before finally explaining the name of the man and what Jonesy had been planning on doing to her with that man. She shuddered and stared at the ground as her fingers absentmindedly went back to brush across the bruise that was there. Arielle concluded, not looking up, but hoping that what information she had relayed was enough.

Mr. Vázquez listened attentively and thought about what would be the next logical step of action. Even though witness protection was the ideal solution, they were still lacking evidence about this Stephjan Bjork man, who went under the title of Calcifer. They would have to hunt down clues to his location, and most likely the man was using a phone where you couldn't track them unless he wanted to get caught by the cops.

He sighed and ran his fingers over his head before looking at the small group. "Well, witness protection would be the ideal in this situation, but... I'm sure you kids probably have something planned out or at least in the works. Kedrick, what would you like to do in means of protecting Arielle?"  

[Tobi-chan Lissesul]

♟♞ ♝ ♜ ♛ Ҝәɖʁϊϲҝ Ś. Śűѿą & Ďȋɱȋŧʁȋ Ĵ. ᾟűηŧȇʁ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟

Dimitri smiled faintly at the others as the walked into the room, seeing Kedrick standing up. He could see the worry in his friend's eyes, and felt a brief stab of guilt for making him worry. But he kept his emotions under control, which was exactly what he needed to do right now.

Kedrick took his eyes away from Dimitri, looking to Mr. Vázquez as he spoke, and then at Arielle in turn as she fully told what had happened earlier. Kedrick smiled sadly as she finished, and took her hand reassuringly. He knew this was so very hard on her, the worry, and the stress, it was maddening, but she was doing a good job and was holding herself together well.

Kedrick looked up as Maria's father spoke again, feeling his heart sink slightly as he mentioned the witness protection program again. Of course, as chief of police that thought wouldn't have skipped his mind, and he was sure he was right, it was the most ideal solution. But it could take them month, maybe years to get enough information on the Bjork character to bring him in. Kedrick nearly felt ill at that thought, to have Arielle disappear off the face of the earth for that long...Kedrick wasn't sure he could stand that.

The young man's head jerked up as Mr. Vázquez spoke to him directly. He opened his mouth, gaping for a second, unaware that he would have had any say in the matter. He closed his mouth quickly, realizing that he looked like a fish out of water. Pinching his lips together, Kedrick thought, and the he looked up at the chief of police, determination in his eyes. "I-I don't know sir, but what ever you think is the best method of keeping Arielle safe...I- I don't care what I have to do...I'll do anything sir..." Kedrick said softly, his fingers tightening on Arielle's. If Mr. Vázquez thought that witness protection was best, the thing that would make certain that she would be safe, he would do it, but if there was something else...

 

[x_Ultra_Panda_Luver_x]

Arielle Shore

"Kedrick," Mr. Vázquez began, "You do know, that speaking from my profession here, that putting Arielle through witness protection would indeed be our best choice in keeping her safe. We have exactly no idea just how "mad" this man can be. Speaking from a close family friend of hers for many years, I have no desire to put her through witness protection either."

"Then don't do it," Maria stated bluntly, arms crossed as she looked at him evenly. "As reasonable and logical as it sounds, at this point in time, I'm pretty sure moving her away won't solve anything. Plus, her grandparents would be worried to death. They already almost lost her once, so why would putting her through a protection program be any better if they, as well as the rest of us will barely be able to see her again. Plus, it'll just be a hassle and we're only halfway through our junior year, dad."

Mr. Vázquez looked at his daughter, taking in what she was saying carefully. It was at times like these were the father and daughter were more like colleagues than actual blood. "So, what do you suggest we should do, Maria? I'm sure you have something plotting in your mind right now."

You have no idea how true that is, she thought with a small smile, even though part of that was thinking about what to do for Dimitri, something she was still having trouble coming to a solution that worked best with them all. "Monkey see monkey do, dad," she answered, a grin appearing on her face. "If this man wants to keep tabs on Arielle, then we should do the same. I'm sure most of your men are well skilled in stuff like this, intel and such. So, if we have a small group keep an eye on Arielle, then we can figure out exactly this guy and his location so we can bring him in. I'll help out too of course."

"B-B-But that'd be dangerous, Maria," Arielle blurted out, not wanting anyone else to get hurt. "You can't be serious."

"Oh but I am," Maria said with a short laugh, "I'm the second person, besides Kedrick, that's with you just about everyday. It would make perfect sense to do so." Plus, I want to experiment as well... Maybe I can use what I learned to spy on Jared, she added in her thoughts.

Mr. Vázquez was silent, before sighing some. "You do know that you're mother will have a heart attack if she knows about this, young lady." He looked at her, the gaze between the two having it's own conversation before nodding and smiling to himself. "I'll see which of my men will be up to the job. But until then, keep an eye out for any suspicious characters and let us know if he contacts you again. Once an overall decision is made, I'll let the four of you know so we can plan accordingly."

Maria grinned, glad to know that another one of her ideas was being taken in by her father. The same thing had happened the night before the Jonesy incident. It made her happy that her father had faith in the things her mind came up with. I'm so glad that my dad has so much faith in me, she thought with a smile before blinking in surprise when she felt Arielle hug her.

"You need to stop being so reckless," the young girl said before laughing and looking at Maria. "Thanks so much."

"It was nothing," Maria responded with a gentle smile, "Just doing what I can to keep you from being reckless yourself."  

[Tobi-chan Lissesul]

♟♞ ♝ ♜ ♛ Ҝәɖʁϊϲҝ Ś. Śűѿą & Ďȋɱȋŧʁȋ Ĵ. ᾟűηŧȇʁ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟

Kedrick's head lowered slightly as Mr. Vázquez said again that witness protection would be best. The boy's heart sank. He wished he was a planer, like Maria, then he would have had more to offer then just telling him to do whatever he thought was best, his lack of a plan made it seem like he didn't care. But he did care! He would do anything, if it meant moving a mountain, or crossing the earth, he would do anything to keep his Arielle safe. Kedrick lifted his eyes, suddenly aware that Mr. Vázquez was continuing, and relief washed though him as he expressed his reluctance to put Arielle in witness protection.

"M-Maria's right." He blurted, almost without thinking, looking at her quickly, seizing on the fact that she seemed to have voiced his silent, unspoken plea. 'Don't take her away, don't take my Arielle away from me...' Kedrick drew a deep breath when Maria finished. "Besides," He said quietly. "Hiding her will keep her safe, but I get the feeling we won't make any progress in finding this man if Arielle just disappears. He's kept hidden for this long, he'll keep hidden until it suits him to come out."

Dimitri too listened keenly to Maria's plan, and shook his head, inwardly marveling. 'That's Maria for you, give her two seconds and she'll already have a foolproof plan formulated.' Dimitri smiled to himself, but the smile faded slightly as he remember Maria's initial plan about Jared. To catch him in the act...Dimitri suppressed a shudder. Even now, a full week after encountering the man again, he was still too shaken to even consider the possibility. Would it work? Almost certainly. Would Jared take the bait? Yes, the man's desire was insatiable, for Dimitri particularly. Could he do it? No...no, definitely not. Not yet, maybe not for a long time. The mere thought of actually putting himself in a position where Jared would hurt him again made Dimitri feel ill.

The boy jerked his thoughts back to the present. "W-wait!" He said, looking between Maria, and then her dad. What are you going to be doing?" He asked Maria, startled by the worried tone in Arielle's voice. "You're not planning on getting you're self into any danger are you? Because if you are," He said, holding a finger in her face in an exasperated gesture. "If you are, then I swear I won't leave your side even if I have to sleep outside you bedroom window to accomplish it!" He said, and then suddenly, he caught sight of Mr. Vázquez, and his face drained of all color. "Oh...oh god, sir...I...I didn't mean...." He stammered, his face quickly heating up and he stared intensely at the floor. 'that wasn't supposed to come out that way...' He thought, scarlet with embarrassment.

 

[x_Ultra_Panda_Luver_x]

Arielle Shore

Oh Dimitri, Maria thought with an embarrassed blush after his blurted mistake. She admired that the fact that he didn't want to leave her side, especially since she could get hurt, even though that tended to be unlikely to happen. Still, she could feel her father's curious look on them and she stared at the ground, her blush getting even worse.

"I'm glad that you're fairly concerned about my daughter, Dimitri," Mr. Vázquez said with a gentle smile. He laughed softly, amused by how quickly both his daughter and her boyfriend got embarrassed by his statement. Mr. Vázquez didn't think too much of it, since it was something he remembered doing plenty of times. He never understood how father's would take that little slip up and think the boys meant something a lot worse than that, even if it was true most of the time.

"However, I'll leave the four of you be to figure out how you'll take care of what you need to do," he continued with a smile. "I'm going to go have a meeting with my other officers and figure out our small team from there. Maria, the two of us can discuss about the rest of your plan when we get home and then either you or I can talk to everyone else about what we decide."

Maria nodded, only looking at her father and seeing the playful look in his eyes. She could tell that he was going to mess with her when they got home and only knew that compared to her brothers, her father could be worse than the two of them combined. She watched as her father say goodbye to everyone and left the room with a small wave.

"I'm so glad I don't have to leave you all," Arielle said in a relieved manner, going back over to Kedrick and hugging his arm with a soft smile. "I was... I was a bit scared for a moment... It would be so hard not seeing any of you again if your father actually put me through witness protection. I'd rather die than be away from any of you.."  

[Tobi-chan Lissesul]

♟♞ ♝ ♜ ♛ Ҝәɖʁϊϲҝ Ś. Śűѿą & Ďȋɱȋŧʁȋ Ĵ. ᾟűηŧȇʁ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟

Kedrick couldn't help but smile at Dimitri's slip up, it would but just like his usual flirty self to say something like that, but this time he could sense that it had simply been an honest accident. The young man laughed slightly at his friend, who had grown very red in the face and kept tossing panicked glances at Mr. Vázquez.

Dimitri almost jump out of his skin when Mr. Vázquez spoke and was about to launch into another round of apologizing and pleading, when the he heard the man laugh. He stopped, his mouth slightly open. He wasn't upset at all? He didn't think he meant anything suggestive by the statement? The boy gave a nervous laugh, rubbing his arm and still looking down. "I promise you sir," Dimitri said huskily, pulling his eyes up. "I-I didn't mean anything by that...just that I want to keep her safe, you know?" He said, a small sheepish smile tugging on his lips. He was boundlessly relieved that Mr. Vázquez didn't hold the slip up against him. He'd hate to be on the bad side of the man who he simultaneously was intimidated by, and respected. Dimitri wanted Mr. Vázquez to think well of him, he didn't just want to be the annoying kid who dated his daughter. He wanted Mr. Vázquez to think of him as someone who was dependable, and capable of keep his daughter safe.

Dimitri nodded his head as Mr. Vázquez announced that it was time for him to get back to work, and he didn't blame him, they had probably disrupted his work day quite a bit anyways. Dimitri smiled slightly, murmuring a quiet goodbye as the man left the room.

Kedrick to said goodbye to the chief of police, and then looked over at Arielle. As she hugged his arm, the young man reached over as brushed a lock of her long brown hair out of her face. "I'm glad you don't have to go either..." He said softly, kissing her forehead gently. He let his lips linger there for a second, and then pulled back, his fingers brushing across her cheek. "I'd miss you too much." Kedrick said with a small smile. "And don't worry, Maria's plan will work, I'm sure of it..."

 

[x_Ultra_Panda_Luver_x]

Arielle Shore

Arielle smiled softly, already feeling a lot calmer when Kedrick kissed her forehead and brushed some hair away. It almost made what had just happened with Jonesy was nothing but a bad dream, even though she knew that it was far from that. She looked up at him and nodded before looking over at Maria. "This is Maria we're talking about, dear. When has any of her plans not worked?"

"Oh please stop," Maria said, rubbing the back of her neck again. "I've been flattered so much today. My plans are really nothing. Just you know, plans of what's the most logical thing to do."

"But they are good, Maria," Arielle responded with a grin. "If it wasn't for your plan, I wouldn't be here right now. I'd be somewhere in Europe away from the rest of you. And the same thing would be about this witness protection. Even if you think your plans aren't that special, Ria, they really are. You're going to make a great police chief in the future."

Maria was about to say something against Arielle's comments, but she found herself smiling. She knew she was right, and was glad her friends believed in her like that. "Won't you let me be modest for once in your life?" She finally asked with a small laugh before leaning against Dimitri and grinning at him."If you're really going to camp with me, better bring your sleeping bag. Unless it gets too cold. Then we might have to share a bed again."

"What do you mean, again?" Arielle asked curiously. "The two of you have shared a bed before? Since when did I miss the wedding?"

"T-T-T-That's not it at all!" Maria protested, the color returning to her face as she stood upright. "I-I mean we have, but it wasn't.... But at the time... It... I.. He... Ugh!"  

[Tobi-chan Lissesul]

♟♞ ♝ ♜ ♛ Ҝәɖʁϊϲҝ Ś. Śűѿą & Ďȋɱȋŧʁȋ Ĵ. ᾟűηŧȇʁ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟

Kedrick grinned lightly at the two girls as they bantered back and forth and the young man was glad that things seemed to have come around to a more positive atmosphere. Maria deserved to be encouraged with this. Kedrick had no doubts that Maria would make an incredible chief of police, but she still need people like them to encourage her and keep her on the right track.

"Well," Dimitri said, grinning and rubbing the back of his neck with a hint of embarrassment. "I was kidding kind of..I mean...your brothers would probably kill me...weather by excessive teasing or torture, I'm not quite sure the difference with them." He joked lightly, knowing that they would probably take it the same way as their father. Eneas and Ulisess would understand that he was just trying to say that he would protect her, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't tease him ruthlessly for it. At the last part of her sentence, Dimitri felt a hint of color creeping into his cheeks. It wasn't what it sounded like he knew, but Arielle was already jumping to conclusion and, by the shocked expression on his face, Kedrick was too.

Kedrick gaping. "What's this?" He asked, a tone of disbelief in his voice. He looked between the flushed faces of Dimitri and Maria, and told himself it wasn't as bad as it sounded, but it sure sounded bad.

"N-n-no! It's not what you think, r-really, I-I mean.. Uhhhhhg." Dimitri gripped his hair and took a deep breath. He could feel Kedrick staring at him with that all too familiar, arched eyebrow, tight lipped, 'spit it out already' look on his face. Dimitri straightened, looking evenly at Kedrick and Arielle. "Maria and I shared my room when we were at my parents house. She was looking out for me. That's all." He said, fighting to keep his tone even. Between fighting the flustered embarrassment that the whole situation had brought, and trying to put his meaning cryptically in case someone else was listening, Dimitri was having a hard time keeping his tone even.

Kedrick blinked, surprised. "Oh, is that all?" He asked, and then smiled, putting a reassuring hand on Dimitri's shoulder to show he understood. "Alright then," He said, and then leaned in to whisper conspiratorially in his ear. "Just remember to keep your hands to yourself eh buddy?" He said, but his words where light, and teasing, and Dimitri knew he meant no offense.

Dimitri shoved him off with a goodnatured grin. "Come on, leave me alone, you know I'll be good." He said, tossing his hair out of his dark eyes. Suddenly, he turned to Maria, looking urgent, and fidgety. "Look," He said, sounding nervous. "Do me a favor, and never mention that, especially to your brothers! Please? They'll never leave me alone!"

 

[x_Ultra_Panda_Luver_x]

Arielle Shore

"My brothers would definitely do something like that," Maria said with a small sigh. "But then again, part of what makes them who they are is just poking fun at everyone, and for the people they like the most, they're a lot worse than if it was some random person. And since they insist that you're going to be their future brother in law, they're just going to make you leave every conversation red in the face."

"But it's just a sign of their love," Arielle added, trying to make the situation of Eneas' and Ulises' teasing not that bad. Of course it was all innocent humor, but she knew that they could get out of control at times.

She listened to her two friends as they both tried to explain, a smile on her face. She had a feeling they didn't do anything bad than just sleeping beside each other in bed, but the way they were defending themselves made it seem like it was a lot worse.

"I-I'll try and keep it from them," Maria said with a shy smile, "But after your accidental outburst, they're going to make me spill or just embarrass the ever loving crap out of me. But enough of that. Shouldn't we be on our way home or something?"

"Way to change the subject, Maria," Arielle teased with a giggle. "But I guess we should be leaving now. Although... What are we going to do now?"